Designing an ASIC Based on Execution of a Software Program on a Processing System

ABSTRACT

System and method for developing an ASIC. A software program may be stored which includes program instructions which implement a function. The software program may be executed on a processing system at a desired system speed and may be validated based on the execution. A first hardware description of at least a portion of the processing system may be stored and may specify implementation of at least a portion of the processing system. A second hardware description may be generated that corresponds to a first portion of the first hardware description. The second hardware description may specify a dedicated hardware implementation of a first portion of the software program executing on the processing system. Generation of the second hardware description may be performed one or more times to fully specify the ASIC. An ASIC may be created which implements the function of the software program.

PRIORITY CLAIM

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/751,994, titled “Designing an ASIC Based on Execution of a SoftwareProgram on a Processing System”, filed on May 22, 2007, which claimsbenefit of priority from U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No.60/802,629 titled “Electronic System Design Method from Prototype toApplication Specific Integrated Circuit” filed on May 22, 2006, andwhich are all hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety asthough fully and completely set forth herein.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of application specificintegrated circuit (ASIC) development, and more particularly to a systemand method for designing an ASIC based on a software program.

DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART

The recent trend to use a high level programming language, such as “C”,to describe an electronic system for the purpose of improving functionalverification efficiency has created a wider implementation gap between ahigh level model and low level hardware realization. Typically, in orderto prototype the electronic device, the high level language programs areconverted into a Hardware Description Language (HDL) description such asVerilog or VHDL code either manually or automatically, synthesized intogate level logic, and initially tested on programmable hardware devices,such as, for example, field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs). In manycases, this proves to be a complicated task as most high level programsdo not contain clocking information which is required for the gate levellogic implementation of configuring programmable hardware devices orASICs.

Systems implemented with a mix of processors and hardwired logic alsorequire a difficult step to partition the design into software (highlevel language programs executed by processors) and hardware (HDLdescription of gate level logic). As a result, manual conversion is timeconsuming and error prone. Automatic conversion (behavioral synthesis)often creates inefficient logic. Hardware prototypes based onoff-the-shelf, commercially available programmable devices such as FPGAsand processors often operate below the desirable system speed, which mayresult in additional challenges for development and verification. Insome cases, the code generated for configuring the programmable hardwareelement may deviate significantly from the code required for the finalASIC due to performance and resource constraints of the programmablehardware devices. Correspondingly, many development cycles are requiredto transform a design from a high level programming language based modelto a final ASIC. Furthermore, there is no fool-proof analyticaltechnique to verify the correctness (functional equivalence) of thevarious design transformations. Thus, improvements in the path from highlevel behavioral models to physical implementation for ASIC designswould be desirable.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Various embodiments of a system and method for converting a softwareprogram into an ASIC are presented below.

First, a software program may be stored. The software program mayinclude program instructions which implement the function of a desiredASIC. In one embodiment, the software program may be written in ahigh-level computing language such as, for example, C. Alternatively,the software program may be written in a graphical programming languagesuch as LabVIEW® from National Instruments or SimuLink® from TheMathworks, Inc.

The software program may be executed on a processing system capable ofparallel processing. In various embodiments, the processing system maybe implemented in a single chip or a plurality of coupled chips, asdesired. For example, the processing system may include a plurality ofprocessors and memory mediums (e.g., interspersed between theprocessors). Alternatively, or additionally, the processing system mayinclude a plurality of reconfigurable logic elements capable of parallelexecution.

Note that prior to executing the software program, the software programmay be analyzed and partitioned into portions which may execute ondifferent portions of the processing system. For example, a first taskor portion of the software program may execute on a first portion of theprocessing system. The analysis and partitioning may be performedautomatically or manually as desired. Thus, the software program may bepartitioned among portions of the processing system.

Note further that the software program may be executed on the processingsystem at a desired system speed. For example, the software program mayexecute at the desired speed of the ASIC being created. Said anotherway, the processing system may include sufficient hardware resources toexecute the software program at a throughput level equivalent to thetargeted system speed. Correspondingly, system development and debuggingmay be performed at full system speed without compromise. Thus, theprocessing system may execute in real time at the desired system speed,thereby allowing the designer to fully test the software program withoutassumptions regarding future performance of the ASIC.

Additionally, where further processing power is required (e.g., toachieve the desired system throughput level), further processors,memories, and/or communication paths may be added to the processingsystem with minimal effort. The ability to rapidly scale the processingsystem to meet system requirements may provide rapid turnaroundprototyping capability to system design. In preferred embodiments, theredistribution of the software program over the processing system may beperformed automatically and transparently to the user.

Correspondingly, the software program may be validated according to theexecution of the software program on the processing system. The softwaredevelopment environment running on a computer system may providedebugging tools, performance analysis tools, task allocation tools, andcommunication synthesis tools to develop and validate the systemsoftware program. The validated software may then be optimized toconsume the minimum amount of processing, memory, and communicationresources, which form the hardware basis for an ASIC implementation.

A first hardware description of the processing system may be stored. Thefirst hardware description may specify an implementation of theprocessing system on a hardware device. For example, in one embodiment,the first hardware description may correspond to a default hardwaredescription for the processing system described above. Alternatively, oradditionally, the hardware description may be pieced together based onthe components of the processing system. The first hardware descriptionmay be in a Hardware Description Language (HDL) such as, for example,VHDL (VHSIC Hardware Description Language), Verilog, etc.

A second hardware description may be generated which corresponds to aportion of the processing system specified by the first portion of thefirst hardware description. Following the example from above, the secondhardware description may correspond to the first portion of the firsthardware description. The second hardware description may specify adedicated hardware implementation (e.g., specific logic circuitry) of afirst portion of the software program executing on the portion of theprocessing system. In some embodiments, the second hardware descriptionmay be created based on the first hardware description and mayincorporate hardware descriptions of the software (e.g., by convertingthe program instructions of the software into a hardware description,such as, for example, HDL code). Alternatively, the second hardwaredescription may simply be created using the existing architecture of theprocessing system and the software executing on the processing system.Thus, the second hardware description may describe or implement some orall of the hardware represented by the first hardware description.However, the second hardware description may also describe or implementthe software (or portion thereof) as well as the hardware executing thesoftware, wherein the second hardware description specifies thesoftware/hardware in the form of dedicated gates which accomplish thefunction of the software executing on hardware. Thus, as indicatedabove, the second hardware description may specify a dedicated hardwareimplementation of a portion of the software program executing on theprocessing system.

In various embodiments, the second hardware description may be generatedone or more times. For example, a second hardware description may begenerated for at least a subset of each component or portion of theprocessing system. Each of the second hardware descriptions may then becompiled together into a final hardware description for the ASIC.Alternatively, the second hardware description may be generated for theentirety of the ASIC, as desired.

Generating the second hardware description which specifies a dedicatedhardware implementation of a portion of the software program executingon the processing system (or a portion thereof) may be referred to as“hardening” that portion of the software program and/or that portion ofthe processing system. Note that hardening may also include implementingthe particular portion of the software program on the ASIC. Thus,hardening may mean that programmability may be removed or limited forthat particular portion of the ASIC. Additionally, as indicated above,the second hardware description may be generated by modifying the firsthardware description to include the software executing on the portion ofthe processing system.

Hardening particular portions of the ASIC may allow for greaterperformance, smaller area, and lower power consumption. Note that one ormore portions of the processing system may not be hardened, therebyallowing for programmability on the final product (in this case theASIC). Thus, the second hardware description may be generated for thefinal ASIC which may be fully or partially hardened, as desired. Thus,by controlling the amount of hardening, the characteristics of theresulting ASIC may range between a programmable ASIC to a customhardwired ASIC, achieving varying degrees of improved area, performance,and power consumption. Note that the portions to be hardened may beselected by a user, e.g., using a graphical user interface (GUI)executing on the computer system.

Generating the second hardware description (or hardening) may beperformed using a variety of methods. In one embodiment, generating thesecond hardware description may include analyzing the software executingon the processing system to determine the actual amount of hardwareresources used. After performing the analysis, one or more unusedcommunication links (e.g. logic and wiring) or chip 10 may be removed,e.g., from the first hardware description to generate the secondhardware description. Thus, in one embodiment, the second hardwaredescription may not include hardware descriptions of various portions ofthe processing system based on the analysis.

In some embodiments, programmable communication links with criticaltiming requirements may be replaced with dedicated wires. Further, thewidth of the instruction set and/or data may be altered according to thesoftware program.

Additionally, the size and organization of the data memory may beoptimized to fit the exact requirements of the function defined by thesoftware. For example, unnecessary memory descriptions for unused memorymay be removed from the first hardware description (to generate thesecond hardware description) during the hardening process.Alternatively, or additionally, memory size may be increased, memoryorganization may be altered or RAM descriptions may be replaced withread only memory (ROM) descriptions, e.g., to allow for greaterperformance and smaller area of the final ASIC.

In some embodiments, the first hardware description may describe aparticular processor; hardening the processor may include replacing thedescription of the processor (e.g., in the first hardware description)with a particular description of a processor from a library ofpre-verified processor cores. For example, a processor with built-infloating point acceleration hardware may be used if the systemrequirements (e.g., of the ASIC) dictate floating point performance;otherwise, a smaller fixed point processor may be selected and used fromthe library of processor descriptions.

Similarly, the processor description may be customized and reconfiguredbased on the software requirements of the software program. For example,the processor description(s) may be modified by adding or removinginstructions, optimizing register file and cache size, adding specialhardware accelerators and addressing modes, and/or creating custominstructions, among others. In one embodiment, the execution control andthe instruction memory of a processor may be replaced by a state machineexecuting the function of a particular software program. Additionally,the processor description may be optimized by substituting a customdatapath which substantially matches the computational requirement ofthe software program. The custom datapath may allow for operation toperform in parallel that had been previously executed serially, e.g., bythe processing system described by the first hardware description. Notethat in some embodiments, conventional behavioral synthesis techniquesmay be used. For example, portions of the system programs may bepartitioned and synthesized into hardwired logic blocks.

In some embodiments, IP blocks may be integrated into the secondhardware description and/or the final hardware description. The IPblocks may or may not have been present in the original processingsystem architecture. The IP blocks may also be highly optimized logicimplementation of a function of the software program. IP blocks(Intellectual Property blocks) may refer to blocks generated by acompany or corporation which is licensed out for use. Thus, IP blocksmay be incorporated into the ASIC (e.g., by including their descriptionsin the second hardware description).

After one or more portions of the ASIC are hardened, the electricalperformance of the ASIC may be optimized for the new chip topology (asopposed to the original processing system's topology). Circuitoptimization may include sizing, buffering, clock net tuning,power/ground net tuning, and/or other optimizations.

Thus, generating the second hardware description may includemodification of the first hardware description to optimize the ASIC. TheASIC may be created or configured and may implement the function of thesoftware program. Configuring or creating the ASIC may includeimplementing the second hardware description (or the final hardwareconfiguration/plurality of second hardware configurations) on the ASIC.For example, where the hardware description for configuring the ASICincludes a state machine, configuring the ASIC may include implementingthe state machine. Furthermore, configuring the ASIC may includeimplementing one or more portions of the first hardware description onthe ASIC.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A better understanding of the present invention can be obtained when thefollowing detailed description of the preferred embodiment is consideredin conjunction with the following drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary computer system controlling a targetsystem under design to implement various embodiments of the presentinvention;

FIGS. 2A and 2B are flowcharts illustrating an exemplary embodiment of amethod for designing an ASIC based on a software program according toone embodiment;

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary processing system according to oneembodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary ASIC according to one embodiment of thepresent invention.

While the invention is susceptible to various modifications andalternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way ofexample in the drawings and are herein described in detail. It should beunderstood, however, that the drawings and detailed description theretoare not intended to limit the invention to the particular formdisclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover allmodifications, equivalents and alternatives falling within the spiritand scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Incorporation by Reference

The following references are hereby incorporated by reference in theirentirety as though fully and completely set forth herein:

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/602,292, filed Jun. 24, 2003, titled“Processing system with interspersed processors and communicationelements” whose inventors are Michael B. Doerr, William H. Hallidy,David A. Gibson and Craig M. Chase; and

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/691,889, filed Mar. 27, 2007, titled“Programming a Multi-Processor System”, whose inventors are John MarkBeardslee, Michael B. Doerr and Tommy K. Eng.

Terms

The following is a glossary of terms used in the present application:

Memory Medium—Any of various types of memory devices or storage devices.The term “memory medium” is intended to include an installation medium,e.g., a CD-ROM, floppy disks 104, or tape device; a computer systemmemory or random access memory such as DRAM, DDR RAM, SRAM, EDO RAM,Rambus RAM, etc.; or a non-volatile memory such as a magnetic media,e.g., a hard drive, or optical storage. The memory medium may compriseother types of memory as well, or combinations thereof. In addition, thememory medium may be located in a first computer in which the programsare executed, and/or may be located in a second different computer whichconnects to the first computer over a network, such as the Internet. Inthe latter instance, the second computer may provide programinstructions to the first computer for execution. The term “memorymedium” may include two or more memory mediums which may reside indifferent locations, e.g., in different computers that are connectedover a network.

Carrier Medium—a memory medium as described above, as well as a physicaltransmission medium, such as a bus, network, and/or other physicaltransmission medium that conveys signals such as electrical or opticalsignals.

Programmable Hardware Element—includes various hardware devicescomprising multiple programmable function blocks connected via aprogrammable or hardwired interconnect. Examples include FPGAs (FieldProgrammable Gate Arrays), PLDs (Programmable Logic Devices), FPOAs(Field Programmable Object Arrays), and CPLDs (Complex PLDs). Theprogrammable function blocks may range from fine grained (combinatoriallogic or look up tables) to coarse grained (arithmetic logic units orprocessor cores). A programmable hardware element may also be referredto as “reconfigurable logic”.

Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC)—this term is intended tohave the full breadth of its ordinary meaning The term ASIC is intendedto include an integrated circuit customized for a particularapplication, rather than a general purpose programmable device, althoughASIC may contain programmable processor cores as building blocks. Cellphone cell, MP3 player chip, and many other single-function ICs areexamples of ASICs. An ASIC is usually described in a hardwaredescription language such as Verilog or VHDL.

Program—the term “program” is intended to have the full breadth of itsordinary meaning The term “program” includes 1) a software program whichmay be stored in a memory and is executable by a processor or 2) ahardware configuration program useable for configuring a programmablehardware element or ASIC.

Software Program—the term “software program” is intended to have thefull breadth of its ordinary meaning, and includes any type of programinstructions, code, script and/or data, or combinations thereof, thatmay be stored in a memory medium and executed by a processor. Exemplarysoftware programs include programs written in text-based programminglanguages, such as C, C++, PASCAL, FORTRAN, COBOL, JAVA, assemblylanguage, etc.; graphical programs (programs written in graphicalprogramming languages); assembly language programs; programs that havebeen compiled to machine language; scripts; and other types ofexecutable software. A software program may comprise two or moresoftware programs that interoperate in some manner.

Hardware Configuration Program—a program, e.g., a netlist or bit file,that can be used to program or configure a programmable hardware elementor ASIC.

Graphical User Interface—this term is intended to have the full breadthof its ordinary meaning The term “Graphical User Interface” is oftenabbreviated to “GUI”. A GUI may comprise only one or more input GUIelements, only one or more output GUI elements, or both input and outputGUI elements.

The following provides examples of various aspects of GUIs. Thefollowing examples and discussion are not intended to limit the ordinarymeaning of GUI, but rather provide examples of what the term “graphicaluser interface” encompasses:

A GUI may comprise a single window having one or more GUI Elements, ormay comprise a plurality of individual GUI Elements (or individualwindows each having one or more GUI Elements), wherein the individualGUI Elements or windows may optionally be tiled together.

Graphical User Interface Element—an element of a graphical userinterface, such as for providing input or displaying output. Exemplarygraphical user interface elements comprise input controls and outputindicators.

Computer System—any of various types of computing or processing systems,including a personal computer system (PC), mainframe computer system,workstation, network appliance, Internet appliance, personal digitalassistant (PDA), grid computing system, or other device or combinationsof devices. In general, the term “computer system” can be broadlydefined to encompass any device (or combination of devices) having atleast one processor that executes instructions from a memory medium.

FIG. 1—Computer System and ASIC

FIG. 1 illustrates a computer system 82 coupled to a target system 100that is operable to implement various embodiments of the invention.

The computer system 82 may include at least one memory medium on whichone or more computer programs or software components according to oneembodiment of the present invention may be stored. For example, thememory medium may store one or more programs (e.g., software tools)which are executable to perform the methods described herein. The memorymedium may also store operating system software, as well as othersoftware for operation of the computer system. Various embodimentsfurther include receiving or storing instructions and/or dataimplemented in accordance with the foregoing description upon a carriermedium.

In one embodiment, the computer system may store and execute a softwaredevelopment environment to control and observe the operation of thetarget system. The target system may include a processing system capableof executing the system software at desired performance level. Thetarget system software program may be stored in the computer system anddownloaded onto the target processing system to perform the function ofthe electronic system. The target system may include a dedicated ASICimplementation of the target system performing the same function as theprocessing system running the system software program. The computersystem is primarily used during the development and verification stages.The target system may be capable of operating independently to performthe function of the electronic system without the computer system.

As shown in FIG. 1, the computer system 82 may include a display deviceand may be coupled to the target system 100. The display device may beoperable to display a graphical user interface (GUI) for the softwaredevelopment environment. The graphical user interface may comprise anytype of graphical user interface, e.g., depending on the computingplatform.

FIGS. 2A and 2B—Method for Converting a Software Program into an ASIC

In the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 2A, FIG. 2A illustrates amethod for designing an ASIC based on a software program. FIG. 2Billustrates a particular embodiment of the method for converting asoftware program from the prototyping stage of the electronic systemdesign into a production ASIC. The methods shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B maybe used in conjunction with any of the computer systems or devices shownin the above Figures, among other devices. In various embodiments, someof the method elements shown may be performed concurrently, in adifferent order than shown, or may be omitted. Additional methodelements may also be performed as desired. As shown, this method mayoperate as follows.

First, in 202, a software program may be stored. The software programmay include program instructions which implement the function of adesired ASIC. In one embodiment, the software program may be written ina high-level computing language such as, for example, C. Alternatively,the software program may be written in a graphical programming languagesuch as LabVIEW® from National Instruments or SimuLink® from TheMathworks, Inc.

In 204, the software program may be executed on a processing systemcapable of parallel processing. In various embodiments, the processingsystem may be implemented in a single chip or a plurality of coupledchips, as desired. For example, the processing system may include aplurality of processors and memory mediums (e.g., interspersed betweenthe processors). Alternatively, or additionally, the processing systemmay include a plurality of reconfigurable logic elements capable ofparallel execution. In one embodiment, the processing system may be theHyperX multiprocessor system shown in FIG. 3. Thus, the multiprocessorsystem may execute the software program in parallel using the pluralityof processors. U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 10/602,292 and11/691,889, which were incorporated by reference above, describe such asystem as well as execution and deployment of software programs thereon.Thus, further details regarding 202, 204, and 206 may be found in one ormore of the references incorporated above. Note that the detailsdescribed in these references and herein are not limiting and that otherembodiments are envisioned. For example, the software program may bewritten in any number of languages on any number of processing systemsother than those described in the cited references or described above,as desired.

Note that prior to executing the software program, the software programmay be analyzed and partitioned into portions which may execute ondifferent portions of the processing system. For example, a first taskor portion of the software program may execute on a first portion of theprocessing system. The analysis and partitioning may be performedautomatically or manually as desired. Thus, the software program may bepartitioned among portions of the processing system.

Note further that the software program may be executed on the processingsystem at a desired system speed. For example, the software program mayexecute at the desired speed of the ASIC being created (e.g., in 212described below). Said another way, the processing system may includesufficient hardware resources to execute the software program at athroughput level equivalent to the targeted system speed.Correspondingly, system development and debugging may be performed atfull system speed without compromise. Thus, the processing system mayexecute in real time at the desired system speed, thereby allowing thedesigner to fully test the software program without assumptionsregarding future performance of the ASIC.

Additionally, where further processing power is required (e.g., toachieve the desired system throughput level), further processors,memories, and/or communication paths may be added to the processingsystem with minimal effort. The ability to rapidly scale the processingsystem to meet system requirements in 214 may provide rapid turn aroundprototyping capability to system design. In preferred embodiments, theredistribution of the software program over the processing system may beperformed automatically and transparently to the user.

Correspondingly, in 206, the software program may be validated accordingto the execution of the software program on the processing system. Thesoftware development environment running on the computer system 82 mayprovide debugging tools, performance analysis tools, task allocationtools, and communication synthesis tools to develop and validate thesystem software program. The validated software may then be optimized toconsume the minimum amount of processing, memory, and communicationresources in 215, which form the hardware basis for an ASICimplementation in 216.

In 208, a first hardware description of the processing system may bestored. The first hardware description may specify an implementation ofthe processing system on a hardware device (e.g., the HyperX chip in214). For example, in one embodiment, the first hardware description maycorrespond to a default hardware description for the processing systemdescribed above. Alternatively, or additionally, the hardwaredescription may be pieced together based on the components of theprocessing system. In one embodiment, there may be different hardwaredescriptions for the different communication links, processor types,memories, etc. of the processing system and these may be pieced togetheraccording to the particular components and/or architecture of theprocessing system. The first hardware description may have one or moreportions which correspond to various components of the processingsystem. For example, the first hardware description may include a firstportion which describes, in one embodiment, a processor and memory.Thus, the first hardware description may be stored according to thedesign of the processing system. Thus the first hardware description issuch that, if the first hardware description were implemented on anASIC, this would produce the processing system on the ASIC, i.e., theplurality of processors and memories would be implemented on the ASIC.

In 210, a second hardware description may be generated which correspondsto a portion of the processing system specified by a first portion ofthe first hardware description. Following the example from above, thesecond hardware description may correspond to the first portion of thefirst hardware description. The second hardware description may specifya dedicated hardware implementation of a first portion of the softwareprogram executing on the portion of the processing system. In someembodiments, the second hardware description may be created based on thefirst hardware description and may incorporate hardware descriptions ofthe software (e.g., by converting the program instructions of thesoftware into a hardware description, such as, for example, HDL code).Alternatively, the second hardware description may simply be createdusing the existing architecture of the processing system and thesoftware executing on the processing system. Thus, the second hardwaredescription may describe or implement some or all of the hardwarerepresented by the first hardware description. However, the secondhardware description may also describe or implement the software (orportion thereof) as well as the hardware executing the software. Thus,as indicated above, the second hardware description may specify adedicated hardware implementation of a portion of the software programexecuting on the processing system.

The degree of hardening that may be performed in creating portions ofthe second hardware description may range from a more optimizedprocessor implementation to dedicated hardware circuitry. Thus, in oneembodiment a portion of the second hardware description is a moreoptimized processor with more limited programmability relative to thegeneral purpose processor specified in the first hardware description.In another embodiment, a portion of the second hardware descriptioncomprises dedicated logic such that, if this portion of the secondhardware description were implemented on an ASIC, this would producededicated gates and/or logic circuitry on the ASIC that implement thefunctionality of the first portion of the software program executing onthe respective portion of the processing system. Thus different portionsof the second hardware description may be “hardened” to variousdifferent degrees, as required by various criteria such as size,performance, cost, etc.

As one specific example, a processor in the processing system may beprogrammed to calculate the product of two sums: Z=(A+B)×(C+D), whereall variables are stored in a data memory. To run this program in theprocessing system, a program may be loaded into the instruction memoryof the processor. The program may contain a sequence of instructions tofetch data (A, B, C, and D) from the data memory, activate the adder andmultiplier in the execution unit of the processor to compute the result(Z), and store the result back into the data memory. In this product ofsums example, the first hardware description may include a first portionwhich describes a processor (comprises of an execution unit and aninstruction memory) and a data memory. This first hardware descriptionmay define a processor flexible enough to perform any function specifiedby the instructions of the program. The second hardware description mayinclude a corresponding portion which describes dedicated circuitry,e.g., a “hardened” version of the same processor and memory to performonly the product of sums operation. Thus, in this particular example,the second hardware description may describe a dedicated hardwareimplementation of the portion of the software executing on the portionof the processing system (in this case, the processor and memory).

In various embodiments, the second hardware description may be generatedone or more times. For example, a second hardware description may begenerated for each component or portion of the processing system. Eachof the second hardware descriptions may then be compiled together into afinal hardware description for the ASIC. Alternatively, the secondhardware description may be generated for the entirety of the ASIC, asdesired.

Generating the second hardware description which specifies a dedicatedhardware implementation of a portion of the software program executingon the processing system (or a portion thereof) may be referred to as“hardening” that portion of the software program and/or that portion ofthe processing system. Note that hardening may also include implementingthe particular portion of the software program on the ASIC (e.g., byconfiguring the ASIC according to the second hardware description asdescribed in 212). Thus, hardening may mean that programmability may beremoved or limited for that particular portion of the ASIC, or thatparticular portion of the software program. Additionally, as indicatedabove, the second hardware description may be generated by modifying thefirst hardware description to include the software executing on theportion of the processing system.

Hardening particular portions of the ASIC may allow for greaterperformance, smaller area, and lower power consumption. Note that one ormore portions of the processing system may not be hardened, therebyallowing for programmability on the final product (in this case theASIC). Thus, the second hardware description may be generated for thefinal ASIC which may be fully or partially hardened, as desired. Thus,by controlling the amount of hardening, the characteristics of theresulting ASIC may range between a programmable ASIC to a customhardwired ASIC, achieving varying degrees of improved area, performance,and power consumption. Note that the portions to be hardened may beselected by a user, e.g., using a graphical user interface (GUI)executing on the computer system 82.

Generating the second hardware description (or hardening) may beperformed using a variety of methods. In one embodiment, generating thesecond hardware description may include analyzing the software executingon the processing system to determine the actual amount of hardwareresources used. After performing the analysis, one or more unusedcommunication links (e.g. logic and wiring) or chip 10 may be removed,e.g., from the first hardware description to generate the secondhardware description. Thus, in one embodiment, the second hardwaredescription may not include hardware descriptions of various portions ofthe processing system based on the analysis.

In some embodiments, programmable communication links with criticaltiming requirements may be replaced with dedicated wires. Further, thewidth of the instruction set and/or data may be altered according to thesoftware program stored in 202.

Additionally, the size and organization of the data memory may beoptimized to fit the exact requirements of the function defined by thesoftware. For example, unnecessary memory descriptions for unused memorymay be removed from the first hardware description (to generate thesecond hardware description) during the hardening process.Alternatively, or additionally, memory size may be increased, memoryorganization may be altered or RAM descriptions may be replaced withread only memory (ROM) descriptions, e.g., to allow for greaterperformance and smaller area of the final ASIC.

In some embodiments, the first hardware description may describe aparticular processor; hardening the processor may include replacing thedescription of the processor (e.g., in the first hardware description)with a particular description of a processor from a library ofpre-verified processor cores. For example, a processor with built-infloating point acceleration hardware may be used if the systemrequirements (e.g., of the ASIC) dictate floating point performance;otherwise, a smaller fixed point processor may be selected and used fromthe library of processor descriptions.

Similarly, the processor description may be customized and reconfiguredbased on the software requirements of the software stored in 202. Forexample, the processor description(s) may be modified by adding orremoving instructions, optimizing register file and cache size, addingspecial hardware accelerators and addressing modes, and/or creatingcustom instructions, among others. In one embodiment, the executioncontrol and the instruction memory of a processor may be replaced by astate machine executing the function of a particular software program.Additionally, the processor description may be optimized by substitutinga custom datapath which substantially matches the computationalrequirement of the software program. The custom datapath may allow foroperation to perform in parallel that had been previously executedserially, e.g., by the processing system described by the first hardwaredescription. Note that in some embodiments, conventional behavioralsynthesis techniques may be used. For example, portions of the systemprograms may be partitioned and synthesized into hardwired logic blocks.

In some embodiments, IP blocks may be integrated into the secondhardware description and/or the final hardware description. The IPblocks may or may not have been present in the original processingsystem architecture. The IP blocks may also be highly optimized logicimplementation of a function of the software program. IP blocks(Intellectual Property blocks) may refer to blocks generated by acompany or corporation which is licensed out for use. Thus, IP blocksmay be incorporated into the ASIC (e.g., by including their descriptionsin the second hardware description).

After one or more portions of the ASIC are hardened (and/or after theASIC has been created or configured in 212), the electrical performanceof the ASIC may be optimized for the new chip topology (as opposed tothe original processing system's topology). Circuit optimization mayinclude sizing, buffering, clock net tuning, power/ground net tuning,and/or other optimizations.

Thus, generating the second hardware description may includemodification of the first hardware description to optimize the ASIC.Since the modification does not alter the function of the system, theverification techniques and tests, including formal verificationtechniques, may be used to verify the first hardware description may beused to verify the second hardware description.

In 212, the ASIC may be created or configured and may implement thefunction of the software program. Configuring or creating the ASIC mayinclude implementing the second hardware description (or the finalhardware configuration/plurality of second hardware configurations) onthe ASIC. For example, where the hardware description for configuringthe ASIC includes a state machine, configuring the ASIC may includeimplementing the state machine. Furthermore, configuring the ASIC mayinclude implementing one or more portions of the first hardwaredescription on the ASIC.

FIG. 4—Exemplary Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC)

FIG. 4 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary ASIC developed usingthe present invention. As shown, the ASIC may include one or moreprogrammable sections, shown in FIG. 4 as Hyper X Fabric's 402, 404, and406. The programmable part of the ASIC remains substantially similar tothe original processor fabric. As indicated above, in some embodiments,the finalized ASIC may contain no programmable section at all in thecase of a fully hardwired ASIC. For the hardened parts, a variety ofphysical implementation techniques ranging from full custom layout tostandard cell place & route may be applied. The ASIC may also includeI/O Frame 400 and one or more hardened IP blocks 408 and 410. The ASICof FIG. 4 may be created according to the systems and methods describedabove.

Structured ASIC design

In one embodiment, the ASIC may be created or configured using theStructured ASIC approach. Structured ASICs are special forms of ASICswith pre-determined base circuit and layout structure. Structured ASICsare aimed at reducing design time and cost by limiting customization tometal, via, or other top material layers of the chip fabricationprocess. Examples of structured ASIC include LSI's RapidChip, NEC'sISSP, and Fujitsu's AccelArray. Structured ASICs inherit the same riskand complexity in designing gate level logic and its associated timingconvergence problem as conventional ASIC, albeit at lower mask cost andshorter fabrication time due to the use of pre-fabricated based fabric.

Current structured ASIC base fabrics are populated mostly by uncommittedgates to support metal layer customization. A description of the system,written in HDL, is required. To create/implement the ASIC, logicsynthesis tools may be used convert the HDL into a gate level netlist.Correspondingly, the gates may then be placed and connected by creatingcustom metal masks.

Many techniques used in hardening a custom ASIC (such as those describeabove, among others) apply equally well in a mask programmablestructured ASIC implementation. In one embodiment of the structured ASICimplementation, the base array comprises processors, e.g., of theprocessor system described above, memory macros, IO, and otherpre-defined IP blocks, thus creating a structured ASIC driven directlyfrom a high level programming language, not an HDL.

In another embodiment, uncommitted gates are added to the base fabric ofthe processor system to facilitate the creation of custom logic.Additionally, or alternatively, metal mask customization may be used toform communication links. In one embodiment, metal layer customizationmay also be used to form memory blocks of various types, sizes, andorganization. Furthermore, metal layer customization is used to createcustom logic blocks.

In another embodiment, the characteristics of each processor (or atleast a subset of the processors) in the processor system may becustomized by metal layer customization. For example, one or moreprocessors may be modified by adding/removing instructions,including/excluding floating point hardware, adjusting register filesize and/or cache size, and/or including special hardware accelerators.

In some embodiments, one or more ASIC portions may be pre-defined andpre-fabricated on an ASIC chip based on the original processing fabricand may be easily customized by different interconnects on metal layers.As another example, the Structured ASIC may already include built-in IPblocks.

In another embodiment, when a structured ASIC is used, the processingsystem used to validate the software program may be a software orhardware emulator of the structured ASIC. By developing the softwareprogram on a platform substantially similar to the final structuredASIC, the mapping from the software program to the structured ASIC issimplified. Due to the reduced hardening possibilities available on astructure ASIC, the first hardware description may not contain the fullimplementation of the processing system since the same processinghardware is already pre-fabricated on the structure ASIC. In such case,the second hardware description may only contain information needed tocustomize communication, although varying degrees of hardening is stillpossible with a structured ASIC approach.

Automation of the Hardening Process

As indicated above, various software tools may be stored on the computersystem 82 for assisting and automating the hardening process describedabove in FIGS. 2A and 2B. The following describes specific embodimentsof exemplary tools that may be used.

Software Development—to enter, visualize, simulate, and debug userprograms. These tools may include facilities to connect to hardwarereference design for software/hardware co-design and debug.

Software Analysis—to analyze computing resource usage, storage resourceusage, communication resource usage, 10 resource usage, dataflow, anddata traffic.

Task Allocation—to model the cost function of processing, memory access,and communication overhead. These tools may allocate tasks anddistribute work load to different processors to achieve optimal balancebetween processing and communication as well as optimal area,performance, latency, and power consumption.

Virtual Prototyping—to optimize the design based on the actual resourcerequirements of the software and provide rapid area/performance/powerfeedback to users in “what-if” analysis. Examples of silicon virtualprototyping techniques can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 6,145,117 which ishereby incorporated by reference as if fully and completely set forthherein.

Memory Generation—to generate memory of various sizes and organizationto implement the decision of the optimization process.

Communication Synthesis—to generate optimal communication path betweenblocks on the chip to implement the decision of the optimizationprocess.

I/O Synthesis—to generate optimal IO frame to fit the exact requirementof the system.

Custom Datapath Synthesis—to generate a customized datapath to replacethe generic data processing unit of the HyperX processor.

Automatic Floorplan Creation—to generate an optimized floorplan based ontiming, power, routing congestion, and signal integrity analysis. Thefloorplanner may integrate hard blocks, soft blocks, clock net,power/ground network, IO, and design constraints into a seed floorplansuitable for commercial physical implementation tools such as tools fromCadence and Synopsys.

Timing Optimization—to optimize electrical performance of the circuit tomeet new timing constraints as a result of hardening the processor.

Design Verification—to verify the functional correctness of the hardeneddesign. These tools may assist in verifying that the design intent hasnot been altered inadvertently throughout the physical transformationprocess.

Behavioral Synthesis—to synthesize the high level program code of theprocessor into a HDL description for hardwired logic implementation.Examples of commercial behavioral synthesis tools include software fromMentor Graphics, Forte Design Systems, and Synforma.

State-machine Generation—to generate state machines to replace theinstruction memory, instruction execution, and sequencing logic of theprocessor.

Reconfigurable Processor Generation—to reconfigure the processor basedon the software requirements, e.g., of the software program describedabove. For example, adding/removing instruction, optimizing registerfile and cache size, adding special hardware accelerators, and creatingcustom instructions are well known techniques in processorcustomization. Tensilica's configurable processor architecture is anexample of commercial tools used to build reconfigurable processors.

Thus, one or more of the above-described software tools may be used toautomate or assist in creating the ASIC using the systems and methodsdescribed herein. Note that these tools are exemplary only and thatother tools are envisioned.

Although the embodiments above have been described in considerabledetail, numerous variations and modifications will become apparent tothose skilled in the art once the above disclosure is fully appreciated.It is intended that the following claims be interpreted to embrace allsuch variations and modifications.

1. A method for developing an application specific integrated circuit(ASIC) which performs a function, the method comprising: storing asoftware program comprising program instructions which implement thefunction; executing the software program on a processing system capableof parallel processing, wherein said executing the software program isperformed at a desired system speed; validating the software programbased on said executing; storing a first hardware description of atleast a portion of the processing system, wherein the first hardwaredescription specifies implementation of at least a portion of theprocessing system; generating a second hardware description thatcorresponds to a first portion of the first hardware description,wherein the second hardware description specifies a dedicated hardwareimplementation of a first portion of the software program executing onthe processing system, wherein said generating is performed one or moretimes; creating an ASIC which implements the function of the softwareprogram, wherein said creating comprises implementing the secondhardware description on the ASIC.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein saidgenerating is performed a plurality of times to produce a plurality ofsecond hardware descriptions; wherein said creating comprisesimplementing the plurality of second hardware descriptions on the ASIC.3. The method of claim 1, wherein said creating comprises implementingat least a portion of the first hardware description on the ASIC.
 4. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the second hardware description specifies astate machine; wherein said generating comprises replacing the firstportion of the first hardware description with the second hardwaredescription specifying the state machine; wherein said creatingcomprises implementing the state machine on the ASIC.
 5. The method ofclaim 1, wherein said generating comprises including a custom datapathin the second hardware description which matches or exceedscomputational requirements of the first portion of the software program.6. The method of claim 1, wherein said generating comprises: analyzingthe software program to determine an actual amount of hardware resourcesused; wherein a second portion of the first hardware description is notused in said creating based on said analyzing.
 7. The method of claim 1,wherein the second hardware description implements a bit width accordingto a bit width of the software program.
 8. The method of claim 1,further comprising: synthesizing one or more HDL descriptions from thesoftware program; and incorporating at least one of the one or more HDLdescriptions into the second hardware description.
 9. The method ofclaim 1, wherein said creating the ASIC is performed using one or morepre-defined ASIC portions according to structured ASIC design.
 10. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the ASIC comprises one or more IP blocks. 11.The method of claim 1, wherein the processing system comprises aplurality of processors and memory mediums, wherein the memory mediumsare interspersed between the plurality of processors.
 12. The method ofclaim 1, wherein said creating the ASIC comprises implementing a secondportion of the first hardware description on the ASIC, wherein theportion of the ASIC corresponding to the second portion of the firsthardware description remains programmable.
 13. The method of claim 1,wherein the second hardware description specifies one or moreintellectual property (IP) blocks, and wherein the ASIC comprises theone or more IP blocks.
 14. A computer accessible memory medium storingprogram instructions for developing an application specific integratedcircuit (ASIC) which performs a function, wherein the programinstructions are executable by a processor to: store a software programcomprising program instructions which implement the function; executethe software program on a processing system capable of parallelprocessing, wherein said executing the software program is performed ata desired system speed; validate the software program based on saidexecuting; store a first hardware description of at least a portion ofthe processing system, wherein the first hardware description specifiesimplementation of at least a portion of the processing system; generateand store a second hardware description that corresponds to a firstportion of the first hardware description, wherein the second hardwaredescription specifies a hardware implementation of a first portion ofthe software program executing on the processing system, and whereinsaid generating is performed one or more times; wherein the secondhardware description is configured for creating an ASIC which implementsthe function of the software program.
 15. The memory medium of claim 14,wherein said generating comprises: analyzing the software program todetermine an actual amount of hardware resources used; wherein a secondportion of the first hardware description is not used in said creatingbased on said analyzing.
 16. The memory medium of claim 14, wherein asecond portion of the first hardware description is configured forcreating the ASIC, wherein the portion of the ASIC corresponding to thesecond portion of the first hardware description remains programmableafter creation.
 17. The memory medium of claim 14, wherein saidgenerating and storing the second hardware description is performed oneor more additional times for corresponding additional portions of thefirst hardware description.
 18. A method for developing an applicationspecific integrated circuit (ASIC) which performs a function, the methodcomprising: storing a software program comprising program instructionswhich implement the function; executing the software program on aprocessing system capable of parallel processing, wherein said executingthe software program is performed at a desired system speed; validatingthe software program based on said executing; storing a first hardwaredescription of at least a portion of the processing system, wherein thefirst hardware description specifies implementation of the at least aportion of the processing system; iteratively generating a plurality ofsecond hardware descriptions that correspond to respective firstportions of the first hardware description, wherein each of therespective plurality of second hardware descriptions specifies adedicated hardware implementation of a respective first portion of thesoftware program executing on the processing system; creating an ASICwhich implements the function of the software program, wherein saidcreating comprises implementing the plurality of second hardwaredescriptions on the ASIC.
 19. A system comprising: a computer system;and a processing system coupled to the computer system; wherein thecomputer system is operable to: store a software program, wherein thesoftware program is executable by the processing system for validation;store a first hardware description of at least a portion of theprocessing system, wherein the first hardware description specifiesimplementation of the at least a portion of the processing system on anASIC; and iteratively generate a plurality of second hardwaredescriptions that correspond to respective first portions of the firsthardware description, wherein each of the respective plurality of secondhardware descriptions specifies a dedicated hardware implementation of arespective first portion of the software program executing on theprocessing system; wherein the plurality of second hardware descriptionsare usable to configure the ASIC to perform the function.
 20. A methodfor developing an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) whichperforms a function, the method comprising: storing a software programcomprising program instructions which implement the function; executingthe software program on a processing system capable of parallelprocessing, wherein said executing the software program is performed ata desired system speed; validating the software program based on saidexecuting; storing a first hardware description of at least a portion ofthe processing system, wherein the first hardware description specifiesimplementation of at least a portion of the processing system;generating a second hardware description that corresponds to a firstportion of the first hardware description, wherein the second hardwaredescription specifies a hardware implementation of a first portion ofthe software program executing on the processing system, wherein saidgenerating is performed one or more times, wherein said generating isperformed based on a structured ASIC as an intended target device;implementing the second hardware description on the structured ASIC toconfigure the structured ASIC to perform the function of the softwareprogram.